Meet Olga Zelek

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Olga Zelek a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Olga, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout

After years of working a full 5 days a week, with appointments scheduled back-to-back for over 8 hours each day, and dedicating the 6th day and evenings to paperwork, business growth, scheduling, ordering, payroll, and other tasks, I made the decision to reduce my floor time to 4 days a week. I allocated one day specifically for business development, and it turned out to be a great choice to avoid burnout and maintain a better work-life balance. Learning to delegate more tasks was also crucial. Remember, enjoying what you do can help prevent burnout.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My eyebrow journey started over 18 years ago in Nordstrom Oakbrook, Il when I was hired to manage the new back then cosmetic counter specializing in eyebrows -” Anastasia Beverly Hills” I was new to this type of job and the cosmetic line was a very new too, pretty much not known yet. Was handed freshly arrived boxes full of brow kits, shelves to arrange products on, and very high sales goals to achieve. This is how I was introduced to this business. Being always an ambitious person who doesn’t give up I had no other way but do it. Pretty much within few months, I become one of the top producers for Anastasia counters among all the Nordstroms.
I fell in love with changing people’s brows, I found my calling, passion, and my clients always responded to the personal care and expertise which I would always emanate from them. From there I moved to Scottsdale and I start doing the same: spreading my brow love and passion for my new clients. It did not take me to long to build my business here as well. The reputation for being meticulous and precise has garnered me a loyal following of clientele and the highest form of praise: word-of-mouth referrals. In my opinion passion and hard work can lead to a success. 13 years ago I opened my own brow studio inside of the very well known Sachi salon, than I outgrew Sachi and opened up my own store front studio located at Old Town Scottsdale. Over the years my team grew to 9 employees, we added more services besides eyebrow waxing and in all the services we offer we want our clients to enjoy best quality and care.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The crucial aspect for me was having a clear vision of my goals, coupled with a realistic understanding that achieving them would demand significant effort and sacrifice. Embracing the extra work without fear was key. I realized the importance of staying resilient and maintaining unwavering focus to reach my destination. This awareness helped me persevere through
fatigue, knowing it was a natural part of my journey and that things would become smoother with time.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The most impactful lesson from my parents was instilling the values of hard work and independence in me. Early on, I realized I didn’t want to rely on them financially due to their strict nature. Their control pushed me to seek independence, fostering creativity in generating income and a fearless approach to work since my teenage years. Having my own money gave me freedom in spending without having to justify it to anyone. I avoided asking my parents for money, which influenced my decision to move to the USA at 20, shaping the course of my life thereafter as an entrepreneur.

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Image Credits

Carl Shultz

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